Some environmental stakeholders have commended the Foundation for a Better Environment (FABE) International on the inauguration of a recycling hub at Victoria Garden City (VGC) in Lagos on Thursday, September 16, 2022.
The FABE International, with the funding of Coca-Cola Foundation, is set to establish five “Tidy Nigeria” recycling hubs across Lagos.
It validates the foundations’ goal to create a zero-waste Nigeria, one community at a time.
The “Tidy Nigeria” recycling drive will educate, sensitise, promote more plastic recovery and encourage households and communities to subscribe to intentional and proper sorting of waste from source in exchange for value.
The commendations came on the side-lines of the official launch of the “Tidy Nigeria” recycling hub at VGC on Thursday.
Commending FABE’s initiative to eradicate plastic pollution from the home front by the unveiling of its recycling hub, Ms Agharase Onaghise, Secretary of the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA), said its the way to go.
“We support initiatives like these because one of the focus we have is to ensure that recycling is brought to communities and that we also create awareness about it.
“We congratulate FABE International and also commend Coca-Cola Foundation for believing in this initiative.
“However for this project to be successful it will take individual responsibility of all us to live sustainably. It is important to keep the message going.
“We can make a change in our environment by ensuring people know the value of these plastic materials some people call waste,” Onaghise said.
Ms Wunmi Ogunde, the Chief Executive Officer of “Pakam” ,an online smart waste collection and reporting software, urged Nigerians to adopt personal recycling habits and get financial rewards in return.
She also commended the efforts of FABE International in eradicating plastic pollution from house to house through the recycling hub.
“This is definitely one of the initiatives that we have had really good collaboration and partnership with.
“Pakam is technology platform whereby we connect waste generators up with waste collectors, making it easy and fun
“The idea behind this is to encourage the behavioural change of people to Recycling. This is because most people see recycling as stressful.
“We say thank you FABE International for this initiative and we look forward to more collaboration in recycling plastic waste the right way,” Ogunde said.
Representing the Aspire Coronation Trust (ACT) Foundation, Mrs Abiodun Owo, vowed continuous support for FABE International in it environmental sustainability efforts.
“We want to say that we are happy to be part of this launch. This is a phenomenal initiative that FABE is doing in Lagos.
“So far Act foundation is happy to partner with FABE foundation. We have been privileged to fund some of the activities that they have been doing, but we can only do so much .
“So, we are glad that the Coca- Cola foundation has come on board to support it to continue to scale what they have been doing.
“We are really proud to be FABE’s and we look forward to continue working with you,” Owo said.
The chairman of FABE International, Prof. Okunnu, in reaction to the commendations, vowed to continue to push the frontiers of the group’s goal of environmental sustainability.
“The core mandates that we have for our society is for us to be able to effect attitudinal change. What we want to do is what Nigeria needs at the moment. We want us to change our approach to waste management.
“So, it is very important that we change this attitude now. FABE Foundation’s core mandate is to effect the way in which you will handle your way from home.
“We will like to use this recycling hub launch as a way to show Lagos state that this needs to be done for us to have a better environment,” Okunnu said.
By Mercy Omoike
